Ai Skaigada
by Sanguin19
Summary: Sentenced to death once she turns 18, she was saved by being sent down to the ground with 99 others but even with the odds stacked against her with her familial ties known, she finds worse danger when she's captured and brought before the Grounder's Leader - the strong will of the teen seems to win more than just the favor of the commander it seems...can she really survive here?
1. Prologue

**The 100**

 **Ai Skaigada**

 **The Full Summary:**

 **Sentenced to death when she reaches 18, her only saving grace is being sent to the ground the day before her birthday with 99 other teen prisoners but even with the odds stacked against her thanks to familial ties – however she finds herself in deeper danger when she is captured by the Grounders and brought before their leader, the strong will of the teen seems to win more than just the favor of the commander it seems…but can she really survive in this new world? (OC x Lexa)**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own anything to do with the 100 franchise – (I only own a few OCs such as my main character, Dani)**

 **Prologue**

Had she been here for three months or three years? She knew the answer already - but in truth it really felt like the latter.

The day had started out just as any other did in this tiny cell she often thought of as her own personal hell, the punishment she was subjected to until the day she was to finally reach her 18th birthday and with that a worse thing would await her, since she'd been tried as an adult for her crimes but the punishment had to wait for her to be of age – she would be 'floated', a term commonly used for the act of taking said prisoner to the airlock and opening it allowing the prisoner to be ejected into space.

It was a fear that haunted her on a pretty regular basis.

For 97 years now, the remains of the human race had sought refuge in space after a worldwide nuclear meltdown swept the Earth making it pretty uninhabitable, 12 nations sent stations into space filled with those they could save whilst billions perished in the radiation soaked world, as years passed by the stations would slowly be melded into one large one that had come to be called 'The Ark', however, to live on this station you had to adhere by strict rules where even the smallest crime such as theft could get you killed if you were or over the age of 18, those under the age would be kept in a juvenile prison most had come to call the 'Skybox' since it housed the so-called delinquents, most of whom were in there for menial crimes such as: theft, vandalism or even just answering back to the guards – but even with this there were dangerous ones who deserved to be there with crimes such as murder or attacking someone with the intentions to kill them.

With this being the case, 17-year old Daniella 'Dani' Williams had been in the 'skybox' for just over three months ever since the guards had busted up that illegal fight ring down in the lower decks of engineering, unfortunately for her, she had been taking an active part in such an event with her being one of the fighters duking it out at the time – the worst part? Her father, who just so happened to be the local Councilman had attended the arrest only to find his daughter having the cuffs slapped on her wrists as she was taken away, soon her fighter handle of 'Dynamite Dani' was little more than a memory and her new name would become 'Prisoner 328' as she settled in her new accommodation.

In the 105 days that she'd been in the juvenile detention sector, she had only seen her father once and that was when she'd been in there for two days, he'd not held back at all on telling her just how disappointed he was in her – and if that wasn't bad enough, he then went on to say how her mother would also be just as furious as he was, after he'd had his say it was like he was disinterested in hearing the teen's side of things as he left her to sit in her cell hurt and angry...

That being said, it probably didn't help her case when she busted that guard's jaw after he bad-mouthed her mother who had died just two years beforehand, Dani had socked him right in the mouth when he made the remark that her mother was **_very popular_** with most of the male guards on the station, especially when it came to getting just what she wanted, after hitting him just once, the anger began pouring out over her father leaving her here and with that she just kept hitting him over and over – and voilà! Her current situation wrapped up in a nutshell, the committee had ruled her as a danger due to her aggression and if she was to go off at someone again then maybe the next person may not be so lucky, it had taken three guards to pry her off of the one she'd beaten the crap out of for disrespecting her mother's memory, he was lucky to have still been breathing let alone eating food without the aid of a tube after she was done with him – for this, she was to be floated on her eighteenth **_without_** review.

Time had passed slowly since then, she had tried to keep her mind and body occupied by either reading the books she'd found under the mattress of the bed within her cell or exercising in the limited space, these were the only things keeping her from going insane since she had no one to talk to, even the guards who came to drop off her daily ration of food and water remained silent, she truly felt alone for possibly the first time in her life and though she'd never easily admit it, that scared her more than anything and someday very soon when her birthday approaches, she will die alone too.

Well, that's what she thought anyhow.

Today the prison station had sounded rather lively for once, a chorus of raised voices had caught her attention while she tried to at least grab a couple of hours sleep, with that precious moment now ruined she decided to just get up and get her shoes on for the day ahead, she wandered barefoot across the cold and hard concrete floor dressed only in the navy blue long-sleeved t-shirt and black cargo pants that they had brought her here in, reaching for the hair band on her wrist she tied back her long medium brown locks back into a loose pony tail, she grabbed her socks and pulled them on before she slipped her shoes on and bent down to tie them, though it was only as she reached for the canteen of water by the wall that the strangest thing happened…

The calming darkness of her cell was suddenly illuminated with the bright lights above forcing the 17-year old to squint briefly and look around towards the door as she heard the distinctive clunk of the lock being undone moments after the blinding light had momentarily disorientated the tired teen, the door was pulled open and two figures dressed in black guard uniforms entered the room one was a male carrying a large metal case and setting it on table near her while the other was a familiar face but no more friendly than the other who had been a deathly serious expression, the second to enter was a girl and someone that Dani thought she knew.

"AJ?" the teenage prisoner uttered hoarsely her voice scratchy from lack of use, she stood looking at the guard who approached her with an air of surprise to see a familiar face "What are…" she began but was cut off by the slightly older girl, a slender-figured redhead with her hair tied back into a tight bun while her deep blue eyes looked at the younger brunette with a poker-faced expression the them.

"Quiet and face the wall, prisoner 328…" she said with the typical guard-like authority in her tone silencing the stunned teen who seemed to let out a sigh and complied to the order, she turned and faced the wall with her hands down beside her and in full view of the two guards, she didn't want to give them any reason to pull the batons from their belts and shock her for some dumb decision, she was all too familiar with the sting those things carried but even still she couldn't help glancing over her shoulder, looking at the female guard who was much closer to her age than the male one who looked to be in his late thirties or early forties, again she heard the red-head speak with the same tone she'd used before "…eyes front, now…" she ordered her making the teen turn her head back towards the wall.

The girl's name was Amy 'AJ' Jensen and to say she and Dani were close would be an understatement, in fact the redhead was her former girlfriend who chose her career over the imprisoned teen, the one who had ended things almost a month before Dani had been sent down for the underground fighting charge, it was also the first time she'd seen her since watching her leave her cabin after a blazing row but in three months of solitary confinement, it was good to see a friendly face even if it didn't really seem that friendly after all.

"Right…sorry, **_ma'am_** …" the teen huffed emphasizing the last part as she shook her head and kept her eyes on the wall in front of her, the whitewashed surface had a series of deep scratches in a tally chart like style as though they were counting something, in fact they had actually been counting each day that had passed her by in the form of two guard visits for food and water a day, on the wall there was one-hundred and five scratches in uniformed blocks of four lines followed by a dash through them for the fifth mark.

"Drop the attitude and hold out your right arm…" she ordered giving the brunette a chance to do as she was told for once.

"Why? Is it time?" she asked now feeling slightly worried as she glanced over her shoulder once more, she now looking for answers from the redhead no matter what trouble she would get into for disobeying them "Tell me…please…" she uttered but instead of speaking, AJ reached down and grabbed her wrist tightly lifting it up as the other guard had prepped one of the large metal bracelet like devices, he handed it to AJ who promptly placed it around Dani's wrist and closed it, with this came a sharp piercing pain flooded her wrist on both sides "Ah fuck…what the hell is that?!" she winced as the burning feeling was left after a few moments.

"Quiet…" she was told by the redhead whose eyes showed a flicker of guilt at the pained look of the brunette.

"Fuck that, what the hell was-" the teen hissed as she turned now holding her stinging wrist, an angered look in her own eyes but she was cut off by the other guard speaking up.

"She told you to shut the hell up, 328…" the male guard growled at the blatant disrespect the teen was showing to the orders she was given, though just as the brunette was about to say something back the redhead looked at her and shook her head before looking back at the older guard.

"Darnell, can ya give us a few minutes?" she asked him and saw a skeptical look cross his expression but soon followed with a sigh as he nodded.

"Fine, you have three minutes…no more than that or it's both our asses, Jensen" he told her and with that he turned towards the door and outside of the cell as he left them to talk as he stood keeping watch on the balcony.

Once he was gone, Dani looked at AJ and saw a visible change in her posture like the pretense of her being the guard had dropped for now, the girl she once knew and loved was back for the moment but she still couldn't be sure as the teen stood rooted to the spot, her dark brown eyes narrowing slightly as she watched the redhead sit back against the edge of the table.

"So…am I talking to AJ or Guard Jensen?" she asked raising a slight eyebrow as she saw the older girl sigh.

"It's me, Dani…now what do you want to know?" she responded the authority gone from her tone for the moment as she lifted a hand to brush a strand of her scarlet hair behind her ear "Hurry up, I can't keep Darnell at bay for long…" she told her taking note of the attitude that had seemed into the teen's posture and tone of voice.

"Fine…" the girl shrugged thinking of the first question to ask "…am I being floated?"

"No, things have changed…" the older girl responded straight out.

"What things?" Dani asked as this now had her interest peaked, she saw AJ shake her head for a second a sigh departing her lips as though she was trying to find the answer.

"I can't say too much, mainly because it's classified and they've not told us all that much…" the guard explained with a shrug looking down at the ground for a second, pausing as she tried to find the words before her cobalt blue eyes looked back up at the girl "… but rumor has it that they think Earth might be safe to return back to, only they need the proof… and that is where you and the other prisoners fit in to all of this" she told her as she saw the realization settle into her ex's features.

Were they for real about this? Sending the teens down to the ground? A radioactive hellhole, which still apparently needed another hundred years to be survivable again?

Were they crazy?

"More like they need Guinea pigs…" the girl grumbled but as it sank in leaving a nervous feeling in her gut as she looked at her "…what if it's bogus? If things are still glowing down there?" she asked her, a hint of fear in her tone at the thought of being sent down to a potentially still radioactive planet and remembering reading about the likes of radiation poisoning and it's effects "I'll die… ** _we'll all fucking die_** …" she could the nerves tighten even more in her gut at the thought of this.

"Look at it this way - what do you have to lose?" AJ asked with a small sigh before looking at her watch "If this chance wasn't on the plate, eight hours from now I would be walking you down to the air lock…" she told her trying to ease the bluntness of her reply without adding insult to injury "…and you'd be dead either way…" she added with a hint of regret in her tone, it was clear to see that the girl was scared of what was to happen to her and the rest of the kids in this block but this was out of her power, AJ was just two years older than Dani and at one point she was a hair's width from ending up in this place when she was under 18 but a friend had covered for her and took her place – the only thing is, that friend had fell past the age line and subsequently ended up getting floated, now she was looking at someone she knew who could well have suffered the same fate.

"Getting floated would be quicker…" the teen shrugged "…I'd rather not be puking out my own vital organs or mutating into a freak of nature…" she added as all kinds of gruesome thoughts passed through her mind, she watched as the older girl stood up from the desk now shaking her head hearing all this.

"Don't be so morbid…" she told her with a sigh as she glanced over at the door briefly before saying a little more quietly "…if the planet is safe, you'll still be alive, right?...think of it this way, a second chance? Freedom from this place?" she added trying to make her see the bigger picture and with that, sh saw the thought ticking over in the brunette's expression while her dark brown eyes were looking down at the device on her wrist, AJ followed her glance down at the bracelet and sighed slightly "Sorry about that…" she said nodding towards the bracelet "…I didn't want to hurt you but those things have a bite to them it seems…" she admitted while rubbing the back of her neck.

The girl looked down at the device and traced her fingers over it but with that came the dull pain of the embedded spikes that sank into her flesh when it was attached to her, she winced a little and took her hand away from the device.

"Its fine…just hurts a little, now…" she said with a shrug while looking back at AJ "what does it do anyway?" she asked curious as to what the redhead knew about all this.

"I don't really know…maybe it monitors your vitals…perhaps even a tracker?" she shrugged looking at the others in the case before returning her gaze to the other girl who seemed to still be very nervous about what was coming "You can do this…no matter what's waiting down there, you're one of the toughest people I know…" she told her with an almost heartfelt tone it had finally began sinking into her that this was potentially the last time she'd ever see her and despite everything she still cared for her in some degree it seemed.

A small but forced smile seemed to cross her thin lips as she looked at Dani for the moment, though this seemed slightly awkward for the most part because they'd gone from breaking up four months ago to being at this point of their first and possibly last time seeing one another, to Dani it was good just to see a slightly reassuring face now rather than just another guard who treated her like crap.

"Thanks…I appreciate that at least one person gives a shit about me, more than the old man…"

"He's not been to see you?" AJ asked curiously since she'd often seen him near the prison but never inside.

"Nope, not since a few days after they locked me up here" Dani shook her head and sighed as the muscles in her jaw tightened a little "I guess he's got better things to be doing…he made it clear that he's ashamed of me" she told her now looking down at the ground.

"Maybe there's something stopping him?" the older girl asked trying to offer a different thought instead of the possible suspicion that he had disowned her.

"That would be his pride…" the girl answered bluntly being no love-loss between her and the councilman father of hers for the time being "…why do you think I've always gone by 'Williams' and not 'Kane'?" she asked her giving her food for thought, she saw a small nod as the redhead mulled it over for a moment but as she went to continue there was a sound of footsteps and soon a figure entered the room, Darnell was back and their time for talking was up.

There was a slight regret that the teen felt as she wanted to say more but knew that now AJ would be just another guard again, she looked at her and nodded for a moment telling her that it was alright and that she knew she had a job to do, the small look back at her turned back to a guard's one as she heard Darnell speak up.

"It's time, say your goodbyes and get her ass out to the dropship…" he ordered the junior guard who looked back at him with a nod as she cleared her throat and then looked to Dani.

"I know this doesn't really mean much from me…" she began the tone softened slightly "…but… good luck down there, stay alive and stay strong…you can do this, I know you can…alright?" she told her trying to find the words to inspire the girl and in some way hoped that it gives her a reason to fight with everything she had if things were really that dangerous on the ground, she saw a small smile cross the girl's lips.

"It means more than you think…" Dani responded quietly before for the first time in a long time she moved forwards and hugged the slightly older girl, it felt strange to be doing this but it might be for the last time so she wanted to at least part on good terms rather than the blazing row they'd had long ago "…thank you" she whispered as she felt the other girl hugging her back.

Darnell shook his head with a sigh but did not intervene for a while as he checked his wrist-watch; it was not his place to say anything, not with this.

"Don't mention it…" the redhead whispered back a small lump building in her throat as she wiped away a tear that threatened to fall before it could be seen by the brunette, she pulled back out of the hug and cleared her throat once more "…it's time to go, you ready?" she stated and questioned at the same time as she took a breath and tried to look more guard-like.

Dani nodded and remained silent as tears seemed to threaten her own eyes, she couldn't speak without wanting to cry but she feared that if she started she'd not be able to stop and turn in to an emotional wreck – not exactly what she wanted to be seen as by those outside so she just kept it held in and tried to display a calmer façade, she took slow and tentative steps towards the door that for the first time in three months felt alien to her as she passed Darnell and headed for the door, her feet stopped just before the threshold as her eyes peered out the seven by three foot window into the commotion filled structure of the prison, cells were being emptied of the teenage inhabitants who were then pushed forwards by guards telling them to move on down the stairs, there were a few brave enough to fight back but they were dealt with by force and shock batons – those wise enough decided to comply with little fuss but plenty of confusion.

The brunette looked around with bold eyes at the world she'd almost forgotten existed outside of her cell, she felt a hand press against her back softly pushing her out into the commotion filled balcony, she set foot onto the metallic floor and looked around taking in the sight around her as she was guided along the way, the hand never leaving her back for the full length of the balcony as she heard AJ's voice sounding more guard-like.

"Move it…keep going…" she told her though she sounded less like she had earlier when she first came to the cell, she did as she was told just to keep up with what was going on as she looked ahead of her to see the stairs leading down the levels.

She felt out of place here but also it was nice to know that she wasn't as alone as she originally thought, they had walked down a couple of flights of stairs before she heard a voice that made her look up from the stairs, a woman's voice that was somewhat familiar.

 **"** **Clarke, stop!"**

The voice belonged to Doctor Abigail Griffin, the woman who at that moment barged past a couple of guards to see her blonde haired daughter who looked like she was scared out her mind, she was familiar with the Griffins and found it unusual that Clarke would be in a place such as this because she was normally such a well behaved and law abiding person, she got on pretty well with Abby too since the doctor had patched her up a couple of times after a fight or two didn't go her way and she ended up with more than a few bruises, she was thankful that Abby hadn't told her father since the two of them had worked together a lot of the time, she stopped momentarily to see Abby comforting Clarke before a prod in her back brought her back to reality.

"Keep going…" AJ told her "…plenty of time for you guys to catch up on the ship"

"Doubt it…"

"Ya never know…"

With this she began walking down the stairs again this time a little faster since a couple of delinquents had been forced to stop behind them, she was holding them up and the other guards had seen this, so with a little shove AJ seemed to keep up her part in this but she was only doing what she had to and Dani knew it, she carried on walking and soon enough they had finished walking down the other seven flights of stairs leading them down to the base of the prison where the delinquents were being sorted into groups of ten, lined up in single file and this is where she would feel the familiar presence of AJ leave her for a moment as she guided her to stand behind a taller boy, he had long-ish dark hair that was restrained with a dark green beanie hat and he wore a dark blue jacket much like everyone else in the lines.

She looked around at what was happening and tried to find some familiarity, it was all strange for her once again as she tried to keep a cool façade over top the nerves but each moment that passed made it harder to keep it up, she looked behind her at the next couple of teens to be brought into line up with her making the row of ten for her group, one was an Asian boy and the other was tall and skinny with wide eyes and a pair of goggles on his head.

"Hey there…"

A voice caught her attention as she turned her head back to look forwards and see the boy in front of her was now looking at her, the first thing she noticed about him was that he was pretty good looking, not her type but still easy on the eyes and his smile seemed to bring about her own out of reaction and just wanting to at least seem nice.

"Hi" she replied quietly not really sure of what to say other than that for the moment.

"Finn Collins, or as these assholes prefer to call me 315…" he introduced himself with a little sarcastic humor added into it as he offered his hand to her "…got a name or number?" he asked at least trying to make conversation with her.

"Dani Williams or better known as 328…" she replied looking down at his hand for a moment before shrugging and shaking it but as he took hold of her hand and lifted it to kiss the back she pulled her hand away and smirked "…nice try" she told him only to see a grin cross his lips.

"Can't blame me for trying…" he joked looking down at the shorter brunette with a mirthful look in his dark brown eyes, she could tell he was only trying to lighten the atmosphere around them but a voice would soon bring that right back down.

"Eyes front, Casanova…now"

The voice belonged to AJ whose eyes were currently glowering at Finn who turned back to looking ahead of him with a sigh and muttering something that she let slide for now, her gaze turned to Dani while keeping it's seriousness as she held up a jacket "Put this on…" she told her bluntly, obviously she didn't like what she'd just seen though it might be that she'd jumped the gun slightly and misunderstood what'd happened, Dani went to speak but she shook her head silencing the brunette "…don't even say it…" she told her as she turned and began walking way.

"Shit…" the teen girl muttered with a sigh and looked down at the jacket, she unfolded it and slipped it on though left it unzipped since it would be far too warm, she didn't pay too much attention to what was happening at the front since the strangest feeling came over her, one that made her feel like she was being watched by someone or a few people, it was an uneasy feeling that made her feel a little more nervous.

Glancing out the corner of her eye towards the left she saw a couple of teens looking in her direction or rather right at her, one of them was a girl a year or two younger than her with jet black hair and blue eyes, the other was a boy with brown messy hair and what looked like green eyes as he looked away from her and whispered something to the girl, who looked at her with a glare before saying something back to the boy who nodded, there was something about this that Dani didn't like whatsoever.

She looked forwards and hoped to god that this didn't mean that the nagging suspicion in her mind was right, she hoped that they'd not already figured out who she really was since the conversation with her father wasn't exactly a quiet one the last time she'd seen him, she sighed and shook her head knowing that now she was going to have to deal with this crap if they survived long enough to reach the ground.

"LISTEN UP!" a voice boomed out over the chatter in the hall, silencing many of the teens in the room as the male speaker continued "STARTING FROM THE LINE ON THE FAR LEFT, YOU ARE ALL TO MAKE YOUR WAY ACROSS TO THE DOORS – ONE LINE AT A TIME…" the voice ordered before the guards present started leading them towards the doors, a few minutes passed and each teen in that line would pass through the automatic doors after being checked by a guard at the door, next line of ten teens went through and then another before it was time for her line.

She wandered over and lined up behind Finn once more, watching as those before her left through the door and eventually Finn was called forwards and one guard at the door checked him over, looked at the device on his wrist and scanned it with another device before sending him forwards and through the doors, for a moment she watched him walk down the corridor and then around the corner.

"Next" the guard called and soon Dani hesitantly walked forwards to stand in front of him, she stood there as he patted her down "The device…" he told her and she lifted her arm to show the wristband, watching as he scanned the device and a quiet beep sounded from them both as a green light flashed on the side, almost in time with her heart beat it seemed "…go through the door over there…" he said indicating towards the doors almost forty teens had walked through before her, she nodded quietly and began walking as she heard him call for the next teen who'd be the Asian boy if she remembered correctly.

As she walked forwards she could see AJ standing by the wall next to the door, her eyes not moving from the brunette as she nodded to her with slightly down look to her, the gravity of the situation had hit her it seemed while she watched as Dani nodded back as she passed her, it took everything she had just to walk through those doors - while the rest of her wanted to run and hide away from it all.

She walked through the corridors following the others as the guards got them into what looked like a huge escape pod like ship, after queuing for a few moments she would soon be pushed in through the doors and passed from guard to guard who ordered her up the ladder, she climbed up and found herself standing in a large seating area, a guard grabbed her arm and pulled her across to some seats.

"Sit down, there…" he told her pushing her down by her shoulder earning a small glare from her but ignored her, he began strapping her into the seat with a series of clicks and clunks before he yanked the straps a couple of times making sure they were secure "…keep these on until told otherwise" he told her before standing up and dealing with the next teen.

"Asshole…" she muttered and rested her head against the back of the seat with a sigh, watching over the next half an hour in silence as the rest of the teens were brought up into the ship, sat down and strapped into the seats while a few were strapped to harnesses on the wall just so they could fit all 100 of the teens into the space, after a while she just closed her eyes and tried to drowned out the chatter, her mind letting it all sink in that they were heading down to a world that no human has set since the bombs dropped turning it into a radioactive and potentially poisonous hell-hole.

The next few hours could be her last or they could the first of her new life.

Either way, she was going find out soon enough.

 **So here it is, I hope it made sense enough for you all to enjoy it! ^^ I would like to say thank you to my friend and beta reader Arizona Green for giving this the once over along with adding a little to the parts I was stuck on, thanks hun :) and thank you all for reading it!**

 **Stay tuned for more!**

 **xS19x**


	2. Chapter One: Earthbound

**Chapter One**

 **Earthbound**

 _"_ _Why'd you do it?"_

 _The first question she heard as she looked up from sitting on her bed to see a figure standing by the open door of her cell, at an instant she recognized the voice without even having to see who it was as she looked at him for a moment, a tall slender man dressed in a black leather-like jacket and dark jeans with black shoes, his dark brown hair combed back neatly and those equally dark eyes fixed on her with a less than pleased expression held within them._

 _Councilman Marcus Kane stood there with his arms crossed looking down at the slightly bruised teen, a cut on her lip and a slight black eye from the fight event the guards had broken up, it was something that had shocked him to hear that his own daughter and a promising candidate for the guard training program was sitting before him in a cell, charged with assault and taking part in illegal events such as fighting for ration cards – she owed him answers and fast._

 _"_ _Dad…I can explain…" the first words to leave her lips as she moved to stand up, though just looking at him she could tell that she was in for a real ear-bashing this time but before she could continue her father spoke up._

 _"_ _I don't care for what you have to say right now, Dani…" he shook his head with a tone of mixed anger and frustration despite him asking why she'd done it, in those seconds he'd already deduced or so he'd thought anyhow "…you're going to listen to me instead…do you understand?" he told her straight his dark eyes searching his daughter for her acknowledgement and soon enough he saw the small the nod "Do you have any idea how much trouble you're in?" he asked her as he watched her eyes fall to look at the ground avoiding his gaze "You are up to your neck in this shit, aggravated assault, underage gambling, resisting arrest and last but not least destruction of public property…" he pointed to a finger on his hand with each charge "…four separate charges and the fact that you're going to be turning eighteen in three months' time, your review date isn't looking good…" he told her though it was only now that it'd begun to sink in._

 _There was no way she could serve a long enough sentence before her reviewing date for them to assume she's paid for her crimes, the thought of this felt like a ten-ton weight on her shoulders now as she carried on looking at the ground, she tried not to show that it scared her even as she listened to him._

 _"_ _I don't even think there is anything I can do in your favor…" he sighed "…you may have even cost me my place on the council…" he added about his job that he'd be risking because of her "…I worked hard to get there and now because of your stupidity I could lose it..." there was something in the way he spoke to her about it that seemed to ignite a spark of her own anger, the look in her eyes as they came back up to meet his gaze with equal anger._

 _"_ _It's all about you…isn't it?"_

 _Her tone was quiet as the muscles in her jaw tightened, she'd had enough already of his blaming her for this mess – alright, she'd brought most of it on herself but in the past few years he'd been building her frustration, ever since he and her mother had broken up when she was just twelve years of age after he'd had an affair with CeCe, the way he was never there when they needed him because he was always working or so he said - but most of all when her mother had died four years after the split, he was too busy to check on the teen which is what led to the path which brought them to be standing in this cell today._

 _"_ _Excuse me?" he asked a little taken aback by the change in the teen that had just moments ago been silent and listening to him._

 _"_ _You don't really give a crap about me, do you?" the girl asked him "You're more worried about the fact that I could have cost you that precious job of yours…" she said bitterly as she stood there looking at him, her dark eyes narrowed on him "…that's all you care about, isn't it?"_

 _"_ _Don't even start with that…" her father growled "…you know that's a lie"_

 _"_ _No, dad…it's not a lie at all" she shook her head the muscles in her jaw tensed up briefly "Ever since mom found out about CeCe…you've always been 'busy' whenever we needed you" she told him "we didn't need you that much until mom got sick…" she shook her head trying not to remember how she'd sat beside her mother's deathbed in the medical wing, holding her hand as she passed away "...we needed you and still you didn't give a single fuck about us!" her rage was simmering to the surface as she looked at him._

 _"_ _I did what I could…I got her more medication than she was supposed to have…" the man in his early forties tried to explain to her but she shook her head and interrupted him._

 _"_ _Do you really think getting her a few pills extra was enough to save her life?" the teen growled now almost squaring up to her father "Mom was past help by the time you decided to get them…" she told him before the next thing she'd say would be the verbal knife in his heart "…I wish it was you who had gotten ill instead, I wish she was still here and you'd died in her place…" she said with a cold tone in her voice, anger had taken over her rational thinking and sooner or later she'd regret such words but for now it's how she really felt._

 _The look in his eyes when he heard her words could only be described as utter devastation and hurt – yes, he was angry but he still cared about her._

 _A lump built in his throat as he stood face to face with the angry teen whose eyes seemed to remain harsh like she'd been truthful about that cruel remark; he took a breath to quell the emotions that'd struck him before he spoke to her in a calmer voice than he thought he had possible right now._

 _"_ _Even if that'd happened and Kate was here, instead of me…" he spoke matter-of-factly looking right back at her "…she'd still be ashamed to see what her little girl had become…a callous and ungrateful little brat who threw her life away by getting involved with scumbags…" he said now a bluntness returning to his voice as he looked her right in the eye, though he was getting the feeling it would be safer to leave before she flipped like it seemed she was going to do "…I guess it's a good thing she's not here to see that…" he finished as the words sank into Dani like a knife into her own heart, she watched him turn to leave the cell and for some reason something propelled her forwards, trying to catch him before the door closed._

 _"_ _No…wait…" she tried to say but he carried on over the threshold and out of sight, she tried to get there in time but the door was slammed shut as she got there and the force of colliding with the metal door knocked the teen right on her rear, she hit the concrete floor but didn't stay there for long as she scrambled to her feet ignoring the pain at her lower back, she rushed to the door once more and beat her fist against it three times "Come back! Please!" she called as loud as she could "Please!" the tears were running down her bruised cheeks…_

 ***KAFLUNK***

It was the jolt that reverberated through the dropship that snapped her back to the present, she opened her eyes after having fallen asleep it seemed if the drowsiness she'd felt had anything to be there, the remnants of the nightmarish memory seemed to still be there too as she sighed and lifted a hand to rub the sleepiness from her eyes and try to think about something else, she'd had three months to dwell on her hasty words and now she didn't want to do that anymore if she could help it.

Once she was a little more awake it'd begun to sink in that the jolt she'd felt moments ago had been a sign that they were no longer a part of The Ark, they were on their way down to the ground and the nerves in her gut returned at the thought of this, wondering what kind of a state the planet was in – was the air clean enough to breath? Or would they suffocate as soon as the doors open? These were just a couple of thoughts that crossed her mind as she sat there strapped to the seat, trying to keep a level head was the easy part for now as she glanced around taking in the sight of the seats and walls filled with teens most of whom some were excited and others looked just as nervous as she was.

She knew that if things were really as safe as she hoped down on the ground then she'd have another thing to deal with, a large amount of the teens in this ship would not take too kindly to her presence, even though she was there because of her own mistakes it wouldn't matter to them since her father would have been responsible for either them getting locked away – or worse, a loved one getting floated for even the most menial crimes.

Because of this, she might just be a target or an outcast if they were ever to discover who she really was.

The pain in her wrist had grown dull now and only ever hurt when she pressed on the bracelet, the green light was still flashing in time to her heartbeat and if what she'd heard about it was true then she'd have to bear it for longer than she wanted to, she let out a tired yawn and blinked a few times trying to shift the boredom of being confined to a seat for what could still be a while yet.

"Wakey, Wakey, Cuteness…" a mirthful tone seemed to catch her attention causing her to tear her eyes from the silver device on her wrist in order to look to her left, once again she was greeted with the dark shaggy hair and even darker set of eyes of the boy from the line who at this moment in time was strapped to the wall, as soon as she looked at him a grin flashed across his rather handsome features "...man, you were out of it!" he stated with an amused tone, for some reason he always seemed to have that infectious smile which would spread to her, the corners of her lips tugged upwards slightly.

"Lack of sleep will do that" she answered back as she stretched a little in her seat "It's really no fun getting woken up by the punk next door…" she remarked about the somewhat noisy neighbor she'd had for the past couple of nights before this had begun, awake and listening to the crying and yelling from the teen next door no matter how much she'd tried to block it out, she shook her head trying to not think about it before curiosity got the better of her "So what did they get you for?" she asked him as she settled in her seat.

"Space walking, kinda wasted a month of oxygen trying to surprise my girlfriend…" he responded unapologetically with a shrug, this seemed to sum him up to her in one that he was reckless and irresponsible but then again, she was no angel either "What about you?" he asked since she'd enquired about his being there.

"Fighting, for ration cards and stuff…" she sighed seeming more apologetic in her tone than he had been with his "…I guess I kinda messed up on that one" she added with a shrug of her own before all of a sudden the entire ship shook and rumbled as the lights flickered leaving them in darkness for each split-second that they went out before returning, a small but frightened shriek sounded from across the room.

The rocky movements seemed to spook even Dani for a moment as her hands instinctively moved up to grip her straps keeping her in her seat, the beating of her heart sped up a little no matter how much she tried to stay calm, she listened to the chatter of the other teens as they tried to figure out what in the hell that was, soon she'd figured it out when the atmosphere around them had changed slightly in the way that she felt everything was lighter as they passed through the Earth's atmosphere, a strange but awesome feeling.

Her attention was snatched back to Finn who'd reached for the buckles on his straps keeping him to the wall, for a moment it looked as though he was checking them but soon it became clear – he was undoing them, was this guy mad?

"Finn, I don't think that's a good idea…" she tried to warn him at least retaining some form of responsibility, she doubted that this could end well as she watched the straps float open while the screens around crackled to life, she turned her head for a moment to look at the screens and saw the face of Thelonious Jaha upon them "…great, that prick…" she muttered not really caring enough to listen to what he had to say for the moment, she looked back at Finn to see him push off from the wall and float across in front of her with a grin, he was actually floating there in front of her almost two feet off the deck "…are you for real?" she said trying not to smirk but failing.

"Yeah…" he answered simply as he almost swam through the air, the notion was tempting to her since for all she knew this was her last few moments to have fun before a potential death "…c'mon, try it…" he coaxed her as though he could see the struggle between wanting to have fun and wanting to stay safe that was currently going on within her mind "…what's the worst that could happen?" he smirked like he had a good point.

For now he did.

"Why not?" the girl replied as the struggle was finally won on the side of wanting to have fun, she watched as he reached his hands forwards and began undoing the straps on her seat much like he had done to his own, though she'd decided to go through with this it didn't stop her from feeling a tad nervous as she soon felt the weightlessness around her increase as she began lifting out of her seat as Finn moved away "Oh my…god…" she muttered with surprise as she began to float from her seat "…this is weird" she uttered as she'd left the seat and now a few of the teens were looking over at them, some finding it funny while others looked unsure about it.

She was beginning to wonder if this was a mistake rather than a good idea as she reached out and pulled herself closer towards the wall, Finn had begun floating off towards the far side where she could see a slightly familiar blonde haired girl sat next to a dark skinned boy, she began making her way over slowly but surely as it seemed she was less of a 'space walker', she heard the cheers for the dark haired boy as he finally reached the other two and began speaking with them.

Dani shook her head with a smirk as she pushed herself off from the side and floated across the space trying to get used to this feeling of being weightless, on her way she crossed the path of one of the screens that for some reason she only now began to pay attention to as the dark-skinned man upon spoke.

 ** _'…_** ** _you have one job, one responsibility: stay alive…'_** he spoke with a degree of seriousness which for some reason seemed to make her feel like she should have been paying attention to the screen as he continued speaking but her attention was snatched away once again by a girl's voice ringing out across the ship.

"Stay in your seats…!"

The voice made Dani look across to see that it'd come from the familiar blonde she'd seen moments ago, it was Clarke Griffin who for now was looking over at two boys who were also undoing their straps, maybe she had a good point as in the following moments the ship was shaking a little more, a worried feeling was coming back to her gut as she caught the gaze of the blonde for all but a split second, she opened her mouth to speak though no word would pass through as the feeling of worry was greeted with a sound of scraping metal…

Suddenly the whole ship shook way more violently than the last time.

The force of the shake seemed to dispel any weightlessness that surrounded them and gravity hit like a runaway train, in a mere moment she went from floating effortlessly to being hurled across the ship like a ragdoll, she braced herself for impact as she saw the wall rushing to meet her…

In that brief seconds she felt as though her life flashed before her eyes, she saw her mother, her father and she even saw AJ – all the memories both good and bad but some of them were the best of all, the ones she'd cherished all this time were now there for her in that brief moment that she caught herself hurtling towards the metallic wall.

"Oh Fu-" the last word to pass her lips before the impact of the wall cut it short, her left shoulder, side and hip seemed to hit it first and then her head which made it feel as though her brain rattled around her skull like a stone in a tin can, she could hear the panic around as her fellow teens held on for dear life in their seats, the ship rumbling and sparking all over the place by what her now blurred vision could deduce but things were only growing more and more fuzzy for her now.

She tried to keep her eyes open but she was losing that fight, the blow to her head had handicapped her in this battle to stay awake, her eyelids grew heavier now…

Was this how it was meant to end? Was this what she'd managed to escape getting floated for? This?

Her eyes finally closed as the loss of consciousness finally collected her into the calmness it held.

 _"_ _So how did this happen?"_

 _The soft female voice spoke breaking through the burning sting of the gash in her eyebrow getting cleaned with disinfectant, a hiss of discomfort escaped through her gritted teeth while she tried to come up with yet another excuse for why she'd shown up with a nice deep wound to her eyebrow this time and the beginnings of a black eye._

 _"_ _Walked into a door…" the teen answered almost right away while keeping her eyes on the wall across the way from the stool she was sat upon, she didn't really know what else to say other than that since the past few weeks this was her second visit to the medical wing late at night, shifting her dark brown eyes up to look at the woman doctor who was currently swabbing the wound with antiseptic, she could almost tell that this excuse just didn't cut it this time._

 _"_ _A door, huh?" she asked a little skeptical of the fast answer, the teen tried all she could not to show regret for lying to someone who she was supposed to count on, the person who'd been there for her in the past year since her mother's body had been floated during the funeral "Tell me, did the door come off worse?" she asked with a sigh catching the girl's attention at this part before she stepped back to put the antiseptic on the trolley while she looked for the butterfly stitches among the several items on the tray, she glanced occasionally at the girl who had since returned her gaze downwards to the floor this time "When are you going to tell the me the truth, Dani?" she asked a moment or two later._

 _"_ _What 'truth'?" the teen asked quietly doing all she could to ignore the throbbing headache that currently filled her skull after the fight a couple of hours ago "I don't know what you're talking about…" she sighed._

 _Doctor Abigail Griffin had been friends with her mother for almost ten years and in that time she'd gotten on pretty well with both Katharine and Dani – but for now the girl before was far from the teen she'd remembered her to be a year before, she could recall a happy-go-lucky young woman who would often help out in the medical labs when she wasn't studying, the younger kids seemed to love her too when she'd give readings from books and assist in teaching lessons, she'd been an aspiring teacher…_

 _…_ _but that was not the girl she saw in front of her._

 _"_ _Yes, you do…" the doctor responded with a slightly displeased tone that the teen would try and lie to her this way "…if the bruised knuckles are anything to go by, you've been fighting…" she pieced together as she noticed the way the girl would promptly tuck her hands away into her sleeves out of view of the doctor's eyes "…haven't you?" she asked as though for the confirmation she already had by this mere action from the teen._

 _"_ _I know what I'm doing, I'm fine…" she said quietly as she finally brought her eyes up to look at Abby who seemed to shake her head at hearing this._

 _"_ _You're not fine…" she told her in an almost motherly tone "…you're hurting but you refuse to let anyone in…" she added as though it was plain to see on the teen's expression, she'd remembered having to literally pull the teen away from her mother's bedside so they could take her body to be prepared for the funeral, the cracks were showing in the girl as each day passed by "…it's not what your mom would have wanted for you" she sighed as she came back over with the stitches in hand, tilting the girl's head gently to get her at the right angle in order to apply the butterfly stitches to her right eyebrow._

 _"_ _Can we not talk about my mom, please?" a sigh departed Dani's lips as she grit her teeth once more at the sting around the area of the wound on her eyebrow._

 _"_ _Dani…" Abby went to speak but she was shut down._

 _"_ _Just stop, okay?" Dani said this time with a slight edge to her tone as the doctor had begun placing the stitches over the cut to keep it closed "I don't want to talk about it…" she told her honestly while trying to hide the tears that wanted to bubble to the surface in that moment, the emotions she once again had to swallow down as she'd had to do all this time_

 _The next couple of minutes passed in silence as Abby didn't really know what to say to the teen in case she was shut down once more, she applied the stitches and placed a small plaster over top to keep the area clean over next few hours, there was no denying that she was worried about the girl but if she wasn't willing to talk about it then she really couldn't do much else than be there for her when things get tough._

 _"_ _Are we done?" the girl finally spoke up breaking the silence as she hesitantly brought her fingers up to gently touch the dressing on her eyebrow, feeling this she knew it already and stood up whilst holding her ribs, something that didn't go unnoticed by the doctor._

 _"_ _Not quite…let me see your side" Abby replied now seeing this as she drew closer, the way the girl had been holding her ribs seemed to catch her attention earlier but it was only now that the thought had sunk in._

 _"_ _No, I'm fine…" the girl shook her head "…I just took a couple of hits to the ribs, that's all…it doesn't even hurt that much" she said but there was something in her tone that said otherwise._

 _"_ _Just let me check, please?"_

 _"_ _ **I'm fine**_ _"_

 _The answer was short and to the point as the girl began walking towards the door, it was hard to believe the sweet young woman she once had been was now closed off and somewhat cold to most people, she knew that even the girl's own father was on the outside to the teen as well but she could never bring this up to him, if he ever found out what Dani was really up to it would be disastrous for all involved – especially Dani._

 _"_ _Dani…" she could hear the older woman call her but she just wanted to get out of this room, just being in there longer than she needed to be brought a sickening feeling filled her gut, that one bad memory swirling around in her head about the room next door where it felt like her life had come crashing down around her feet, she couldn't stay any longer no matter how much Abby called for her as she opened the door and left the medical room while the same voice called out to her "Dani…?" she called her but the teen carried on down the hallway blocking out the calls…_

 **"** **Dani…?"**

 **"** **Dani…?"**

 **"** **Dani, wake up…"**

The voice broke through the darkness that'd enveloped her for god only knows how long, her senses slowly began to return to her and unfortunately the god-awful pain of what'd left her in this condition also came back to her, the pain in her head felt like someone had tried to pry her skull open with a dull axe though as she slowly came round there were certain things her senses picked up on.

A soft rush of air brushing over the exposed flesh on her face, neck and hands…

It didn't feel one bit like the atmosphere she'd grown up in, it didn't feel so claustrophobic either like she was finally free from being closed in and it was only as her eyes began to slowly open that it began to sink in, the strange but bright light that filled her vision making her squint for a brief moment before a familiar face came into view, blonde locks and blue eyes that shimmered with concern looking down at her.

Where were they? And why was it so god-damn bright?

"Dani…can you hear me?"

"No…I'm just going to play deaf, Griffin…" the first words to leave the older teen's lips in the form of a smirk as her dark brown eyes finally focused enough to see a small smile appear across the blonde haired girl's lips, this would soon be followed by a light slap that connected with her shoulder which twisted the brunette's calm features into a mild wince "Ah, careful…" she hissed a little through gritted teeth

"Maybe that'll teach you for being a wise-ass, Williams…" she remarked while she slowly lifted a hand to move the girl's fringe out of the way, her eyes settling on the small cut in the left-hand side of Dani's hairline "…you missed out on all the fun…" she seemed to inform her as she dabbed the drying blood with a scrap of cloth "…been on the ground for a couple of hours now…" it was these words that seemed to sink into the brunette the fastest as her eyes widened a little with realization.

The ground? They were there already?

"And we're alive?" she asked a little surprised "It's safe?"

"As far as we know…" the Griffin girl nodded as the sound of footsteps could be heard approaching and again that familiar voice rang out.

"She alright?" the voice belonged to Finn who soon appeared as he knelt beside Clarke "Hey Cuteness, how ya doing?" he asked looking pretty unharmed for someone who had also been thrown across the ship.

"I'm fine…I've had worse" she shrugged it off as she moved to try and sit up before looking at Finn "…and it's Dani, not 'cuteness'…" she corrected him with a small smirk trying to hide the wince from the pain that shot up her back as she moved to sit up "So, we're really on the ground?" she asked as she glanced around and saw greenery of bushes and trees all around, as well as the occasional teen who seemed to be running around freely while celebrating their freedom from the Ark and their prison.

"We sure are" Finn nodded with a smirk while glancing at Clarke who just shook her head with a sigh.

"This is amazing…" Dani uttered taking in the sights around her, the breeze that flowed through the woodland area they were currently in the middle of "We're actually on the freaking ground…" she smirked as she saw Clarke smile at her.

"Welcome to our new home"

New home…?

That kind of had a nice ring to it.

 **So here is the latest chapter, I would like to say a huge thank you to those who read the story so far and have shown your support, I am trying to get these chapters out as often as I can but sometimes writer's block tries to thwart my plans – I want to give a shout out to my good friend and beta reader Arizona Green who again has aided me with her expertise, thanks for that hun :) and with that, I hope you enjoyed this chapter even if it was a little rushed! Lol.**

 **Let me know what you lovely people think ^^**

 **Thanks,**

 **xS19x**


	3. Happiness and Uncertainty

**Chapter Two**

 **Happiness and Uncertainty**

 ** _Seven months ago…_**

 _"_ _Morning, babe…"_

 _A voice as soft as silk broke through the comforting sleep she'd dwelled in for the past few hours. She could feel the warmth of skin pressing to her back and with it a small smile spread across her lips. A moment later, she began to roll over under the warmth of her duvet and found herself looking up into a pair of wonderfully dark brown eyes. A sight she'd gotten quite used to in recent months ever since the last Unity Day celebratory dance, she never thought it would amount to much…_

 _But here they were._

 _Daniella Williams, the girl had been working part time as a teaching assistant for the younger children when they first met. Three years ago, she was far different to the girl who currently shared her bed but in recent months she'd seen a small glimmer of that girl coming back. At first a smile or maybe even a moment when she was care-free and doing the things she used to do, that was the girl she hoped to see again and may have even been the girl she fell for to begin with._

 _But she loved her even still._

 _"_ _What time is it?" the redheaded girl asked with a sleepy yawn as she finally felt her back settle on the bed, the girl beside her had scooted back a little to give her room but she was still laying on her side. She watched the brunette lift her head for a moment to look at the clock on the metallic panel wall across the way, soon enough she got her answer in the form of another tired yawn._

 _"_ _Just past seven, I think…" the girl uttered after the yawn before she rested her head back on the pillow "…I have class in an hour…" she sighed softly, after a moment it was like a thought struck her as she rolled over and reached for something from under the bed. The redhead watched her brunette girlfriend slowly turn back to look at her with a small smile "…but I have enough time to give you this." She said as she handed her a small pouch that seemed to have been made out of some form of cotton, there was a small weighted feel to it as she took hold of it._

 _"_ _What's this?" she asked with a small smile._

 _"_ _One of your birthday presents…" she answered with a small amount of amusement in her tone "…Happy Birthday, AJ." The younger girl said as she watched the redhead open the string on the little bag and tip it upside-down into her palm. At first a small silver link chain fell through the hole before it was followed by a pendant no bigger than a coin, upon a closer inspection she realized that it was a coin._

 _It was a one cent coin, small and bronze in color. In the middle it looked like someone with a skilled hand had carefully cut out the shape of a heart, above that was a smaller hole for the chain to fit through. She could feel a small lump build in her throat as she looked at the thoughtful gift._

 _"_ _Dani…it's beautiful" she smiled as she admired it for a moment longer before returning it to the bag for safe keeping, after that she put the bag on her bedside table "Thank you, gorgeous" she said softly as she leaned over and pressed a soft kiss to the plush lips of her lover, she tried not to focus on the angry looking cut to her temple that seemed to have been treated already if the butterfly stitches were anything to go by. It wasn't something that she had noticed the night before since darkness hid things quite well._

 _"_ _You like it?" the younger girl asked almost surprised by this._

 _Of course she liked it, in fact she loved it. The pendant was something of the old world and that is what she liked so much – well that and the fact that it was a gift from the girl who owned her heart._

 _"_ _Yes, I love it" she chuckled as she snuggled up to her knowing she'd have to let her go soon, she still had to wash and get ready for covering a lesson while the original teacher was stuck in bed with the flu "Do you really have to go in…?" she asked a little spoilt in her tone "Can't we stay in bed a little longer?" she offered a hopeful smirk._

 _"_ _I wish we could…" the younger girl replied as she tucked a slither of her brunette hair behind her right ear "…besides, you can't have all your gifts in one go…" she smirked, just by hearing this, the redhead had gotten a hint as to what she meant by 'one of her presents' a few moments ago._

 _"_ _Oh, really?" she offered a mirthful smirk "Can't I convince you otherwise?"_

 _The brunette giggled lightly and shrugged._

 _"_ _So it's not a 'no'?" the birthday girl asked with a grin spreading across her lips._

 _"_ _It's not a 'yes' either" the brunette smirked as she leaned over and pressed a chaste kiss to those grinning lips, she soon found that to be a little mistake on her part as that kiss was followed by another and then another. Each kiss less chaste than the last "…now look what you've done…" she smirked as her lips began to travel down the curve of the older girl's neck._

 _"_ _What have_ _ **I**_ _done, now?" the birthday girl giggled before a pleased sigh escaped her lips._

 _"_ _Being too god-damned sexy…" came the short reply of her brunette lover between kisses that traveled across her neck "…and making me late for class…but that I don't mind too much about…" she smirked against the soft skin. The next present was well underway to being received as the birthday girl reciprocated by unwrapping the brunette as she would a present…_

 **Present Day…**

She twirled the coin pendant between her fingers, her skin pressed against the cool metal that was warming slowly to her touch.

The pendant on the necklace that she'd received on her birthday twirled in between her fingers, it was the only thing stopping her from becoming a nervous wreck. Her azure eyes hadn't even left the screen since she entered the tech center, with no delinquents left to keep in line she'd clocked off early today to observe the landing. She'd tucked herself out the way of those who were still working, making sure things ran smoothly and that the prisoners would make it to Earth in one piece. She didn't want to hinder that.

She had far too much invested in this.

"They should be reaching the atmosphere within the next three minutes…" a voice seemed to catch her attention, she briefly tore her eyes from the screens as she looked for the voice's origin. It was the voice of Doctor Eric Jackson, he was speaking across the center over the quiet hubbub of his co-workers to Doctor Griffin. "…shall I patch in the Chancellor's message?" he asked her.

"Yes please, Jackson" the older doctor nodded to her colleague as she monitored another screen for a moment.

As soon as she'd taken note of what was going on, it didn't take her long to take her eyes from the doctors and find their way back to the screen. She didn't want to miss a single moment, there were sixteen screens across the room and each of them contained six sets of vitals with a picture of each of the teens beside them. Even as she stood almost twenty feet from them she could still see that one picture and the vitals next to it, the feisty brunette to whom her heart once belonged.

She'd tried not to think about her in the past few months after they'd broken up, even going as far as to avoid anything that would bring them into the same room. It wasn't because she disliked her in any way, it was the fact that she couldn't let whatever the girl had gotten herself into bring her down too. If she was asked to honestly answer how she felt about Dani, she would tell them that she still held feelings for her and tell them how much it crushed her to know the brunette lied to her – lied to her about the bruises and the cuts, lied to her about why she sometimes came home to her in the middle of the night and most of all where she got the rations from.

It angered her, she'd not lie about that and in some way that's probably why they argued that night a few months ago.

Dani had come home with a busted lip and scraped up knuckles, it seemed she was hoping to clean up before the redhead saw her but instead she got caught out this time. The first time they had ever really had yelled at each other like this, all the anger had melted down into tears and feelings of betrayed trust. For days she wanted to go and see her but she hoped that losing her would make Dani change her ways in an effort to win her back – but it seemed the girl was just too stuck in her ways.

The lesson didn't work.

And now, she might never see the girl again.

So lost in her thoughts she failed to notice a familiar figure come to stand beside her, until she heard that voice.

"You're here too?"

Again she took her eyes from the screen, glancing long enough see who the voice belonged to before her eyes returned to the screen once more.

"I am, sir…" She replied quietly "…probably for the same reason you are?" she asked not really wanting to assume too much. Out the corner of her eye she saw him briefly glance at her, for a small moment she thought she'd overstepped the line but soon she'd hear his voice again.

"I am only here to oversee the project's progression" he told her while it seemed he was trying to keep an impassive voice "My daughter's being there has nothing to do with this." He added in a slightly less cold tone. She was hearing this but there was still something about his voice, like he was trying to hide something behind it. From what she'd known of Marcus Kane, he rarely showed emotion when it came to work even now.

"Right, sorry sir…" she responded quietly as a small sigh escaped her lips, there were a few more moments of silence before she heard footsteps leaving the space beside her. Her eyes must have left the screen once more to see the man clad in a black leather jacket and jeans wandering away, his steps much slower than his usual brisk pace. Though they'd never really seen eye to eye on most things, she did feel bad for the councilman having lost his ex-wife no more than two years ago – and now his only child had been sent down to Earth, to her own possible demise.

Part of her wanted to speak out but the rest of her knew that was a bad idea, the last thing she wanted to do was pester someone like him.

Suddenly, a god-awful sound blasted through the room as it echoed off the walls all around. It was as though a siren of the old world had gone off, an ear-splitting shrill leaving many in the room stunned.

 ** _*BEEP-BEEP-BEEP! BEEP-BEEP-BEEP! BEEP-BEEP-BEEP!*_**

A cold chill flowed down her spine, she wanted to look at the screens to see what was going on but the possibilities scared her. She didn't want to turn around and see that they were all dead. Had the ship exploded? Had it crashed and killed them all? These were all questions in her mind, the most morbid ones her fears could bring to her.

"Somebody give me a Sit-Rep, now!" a voice spoke out above the sudden flurry of confusion, it belonged to a man but that was about all she could grasp at the moment. The young guard watched the Councilman who had also frozen in place at the horrid sound, he turned on his heels and brought his eyes to the screen. The color drained momentarily from his cheeks and he swallowed while his dark brown eyes stay fixed on the screens, it was only at this point she returned her eyes to them with a new fear installed within her.

The vital signs of all the delinquents on the screen had shown spikes in their heart rate. However there were three of whom showed a significant change.

One of them, a boy called Glen Dickson had flat-lined already. There was no doubt about it, he was dead. While another boy who looked to be called Dustin Carter, his vitals had shown a brief spike but were growing weaker by the moment. It looked as though he'd been hurt and was fighting for his life, sadly in moments he'd join the fate of Dickson.

A sickening twist filled her gut as she looked at the third set of vitals, a sharp but brief rise in heart rate like the other two but instead of flat-lining they grew faint instead. She could feel the tears wanting to well in her eyes as the world around her hand muffled for a moment, a dryness in her mouth as her heart almost fell into her gut.

The vital signs for prisoner 382, Daniella Williams had dropped significantly lower than they should have been. A fear was creeping up her spine as her mind began to present her with terrifying uncertainties. She looked to her side once more as she saw the councilman's reaction to the sight of his daughter's vitals, his eyes glistened slightly and he cleared his throat of the lump that built in it. Soon enough he set forwards as the hiss of the automatic doors grabbed there attention, an Asian woman walking through and making her way over to him ready to speak.

"Not now…" he told her in a short and abrupt tone, it momentarily left the woman speechless as she followed him across the room to the chief engineer. AJ was close behind as she didn't want to be left out of the loop "What's going on?" he asked in as much of a collected tone as he could.

"Total system failure, that's what we're looking at…" the voice of the chief engineer she only knew as Sinclair spoke up "…all we know for sure, is that they were way off course…" he explained to the cluster of people who now surrounded him looking for answers, the young redhead didn't want to believe what she was hearing "…when we lost contact, so-" he was explaining but she'd heard enough already.

"We've lost contact with them?" she spoke up interrupting the engineer as all eyes turned to her for that moment "…you can't be seri-" it wasn't long before she herself was interrupted by Kane.

"Tell me about communications…" he asked as he gave the young redhead a small look out the corner of his eye.

"Other than the telemetry from their wristbands, we know nothing…" he explained to them all whilst looking between the main two to catch his attention "…no audio, no visual, no computer link…" he told them "Everything we programmed in to help them…is gone" he sighed as he looked down at his screen "They're on their own."

It was that last part that pained her heart.

It really hit home, ninety-eight teens were now down on earth with nothing but a few days' worth of earth skills knowledge and a rust-bucket ship with some pointless wristbands. It took all she had to keep calm and not say what she wanted to say. She shook her head and curled her hand into a tight fist, she needed to get out of here but part of her wanted to stay and keep watch over the screens.

Her attention was swayed for a moment when she heard a sigh come from Kane, she glanced up to see a slightly numbed look cross his now pale features before he looked over at the screens.

"Excuse me…" he said quietly before he turned on his heel and made a swift exit from the room, the Asian woman who she could have sworn was named CeCe or something alike glanced to the younger girl. She gave the redhead a small nod before she then followed the councilman out through the doors. The redhead looked back at the engineer.

"Will they be alright?" she asked him.

"I honestly don't know…but we'll do all we can to try and find a way to reach them" he told her as he could see something about her. Did she really care that much? "Until then they're on their own…" he repeated the only part that could strike fear into her.

"I understand" she said quietly before giving a short nod of thanks to him.

In the following moments she turned and began walk away back to the place she'd been standing in for all that time, each step felt heavier as she turned her attention back to the screens. She'd hoped to see some change in Dani's vitals, they were still different to the others but at least her heart was still beating for now. She'd wondered what caused such a thing.

Was she hurt? If so, how bad? Would she survive?

She didn't know the answer to any of this other than the heart-rate had slowed down far more than the others. Maybe she'd just hit her head? Maybe, she had nothing serious to worry about? The tightness remained in her gut as she stood vigil looking at the screens above. She couldn't be there with Dani but she would sure as hell keep watch for her.

A quiet mutter slipped through her lips as she watched and waited.

"Please be safe, Dani…"

 **Hey guys! Here's the latest chapter, sorry it has taken so long to write out but at least it's here. I wouldn't have gotten here without the help of my ever vigilant beta-reader and friend Arizona Green, thanks hun for all your help! ^_^ I would also like to say a huge thank you to all who have reviewed, followed and favorited this story so far! It means a huge deal to me that you guys like this too so thanks for giving me what I need to write this story.**

 **Let me know what you guys think!**

 **Thanks  
xS19x **


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